Vlad Jr. named AL Player of the Week after power surge

Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally broke out in a big way, and his efforts didn't go unnoticed. The 20-year-old third baseman was named American League Player of the Week on Monday. The first Major League Award of Vlad Jr.'s career! ???? Congratulations, Vladdy! #LetsGoBlueJays pic.twitter.com/Q5CiHtoVBT — Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) May 20, 2019 Prior to last week, Guerrero had yet to hit a home run following his promotion to the majors. But he proceeded to slash .333/.417/.905 with four homers and nine RBIs over a six-game span, which began with a two-homer day against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.

Toronto Blue Jays superstar prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a popular pick as he gets set to take the league by storm, but he' s not the only player positioned to join the ranks of Ahead , we've highlighted three breakout candidates at each position, along with naming a few others worth keeping an eye on.

Blue Jays top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is putting in the work and preparing for what could be a breakout 2019 season About Major League Baseball

There was no fretting in the Blue Jays camp this past weekend when it came to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Baseball’s top prospect had been in the big leagues for 13 games by the time the team took off Sunday night for a two-game series against the Giants, which began Tuesday in San Francisco.

The 20-year-old third baseman scuffled as much as he ever had in his first two weeks and two days in the big leagues: a .191 batting average, two extra-base hits, a lone RBI. Not the booming bat that was anticipated with his promotion in late April.

Blue Jays’ Guerrero Jr. breaks out with historic two-homer game

Lately, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has looked like a player on the brink of a breakout. His first two MLB home runs are a sign it’s happening. The post May 15: Vlad Jr. goes deep appeared first on Sportsnet.ca.

Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. (born March 16, 1999) is a Canadian–Dominican professional baseball third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Vlad Guerrero Sr. would soon have even more to celebrate, as his 20-year-old son was locked in all night long. At 20 years and 59 days Guerrero Jr.’ s now the youngest player ever to homer for the Blue Jays , passing former two-sport In that sense, the top prospect is ahead of his father, who first

But the belief in Guerrero was clear, even before he started to put together better at-bats and hit the ball with more force over the weekend: The hits, the home runs, were going to come. It was a sentiment echoed by coaches and teammates alike.

He proved them right in a breakout game on Tuesday night at Oracle Park: two long homers in a 3-for-4 performance, driving in four runs in a 7-3 victory. He became the youngest Jay to hit a home run — beating Danny Ainge by a few days — with a blast that spawned a special edition Topps baseball card (released Wednesday and on sale for 24 hours).

Guerrero is also the youngest player in franchise history to hit two homers in a game — logically — and the first Jay in the Statcast era, spanning five years, to launch two long balls with an exit velocity of at least 110 miles per hour (111.3 and 113.7, respectively) in the same contest.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. took a page of the MLB record book away from Danny Ainge, of all people

Vlad Guerrero Jr. took a page of the MLB record book away from Danny Ainge, of all people

Guerrero sparked a late rally with a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth for the first hit of his Three batters later, Brandon Drury came through with a two-run homer as the Blue Jays picked up In what was being dubbed “ Vlad Jr. Day” north of the border, Guerrero made a pair of slick plays at

Vlad Guerrero Jr. hit his first homer and loved every second of the dugout sunflower seed shower afterward. It happened at Oracle Park in San Francisco as the Blue Jays battled the Giants, and no, dear Most times, when a rookie hits his first big league homer , he gets the silent treatment upon his

His first-inning drive travelled 438 feet to straightaway centre field, over the head of former Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar. In the sixth, another blast to centre, this time 451 feet.

Guerrero had arrived — a little late, but in style.

“I did know,” Guerrero, through interpreter Hector Lebron, told reporters in San Francisco about his first homer. “I made very good contact. I hit it on the barrel and I knew it was going to be good.”

It’s not going to be good every day, though, as he knows after struggling early on. In Wednesday’s 4-3 loss in San Francisco, splitting their two-game series, Guerrero went 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI groundout that tied the game in the fifth inning.

His average sits at .222 with a .693 OPS as the Jays prepare to open a four-game series against the White Sox in Chicago on Thursday night.

What manager Charlie Montoyo and the rest of the Jays staff will look for next is consistency. Guerrero has twice played five straight games in the field, an indication that his body is holding up well in the big-league grind — particularly on the Rogers Centre’s artificial turf — after starting the season on the injured list with a strained oblique.

Vlad at 10 games: Guerrero Jr. has yet to live up to the hype

Through his first 10 games of his major-league career, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations placed on him by the team, fans and media alike. But he's not baseball's first phemon to struggle early on.

Read more: Vlad Guerrero plays the Blue Jays call-up game at a big-league level. Guerrero is widely expected to be the first one promoted, having pounded Triple-A pitching late last year and put “That’ s when somebody’ s listening, watching, paying attention and not afraid to go ahead and do it.”

Watch: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Wearing His Dad' s No. 27, Hits Walk-Off Homer in Montreal. The younger Guerrero hit a walk-off home run for the Blue Jays in an exhibition game to lead Toronto to a 1-0 win over St. Louis. He did so wearing his dad' s No. 27 while in Montreal where his father played from

He has put together a pair of three-game hit streaks, one of which was snapped on Wednesday. But with Toronto’s offence needing a spark — just five hits Wednesday — and Montoyo singling out Guerrero as one of the players who could provide it, the Jays will need more than just a few good performances from the budding superstar.

It’s a lot of pressure to put on a rookie who was wearing a Buffalo Bisons jersey not long ago, but the Jays spent time preparing Guerrero for this moment — how to handle the spotlight, how clubhouse leadership works.

Guerrero admitted that the home run watch was on his mind, and predicted during batting practice on Tuesday that he would hit one that night. Last week, he wore high socks for a game to try to change his luck, a superstition that once worked for him in Double-A.

After his long-awaited call-up, there was always the question of how he would react to his first big-league slump. So far, he’s passing that test. And more homers will come. Just ask hall of famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., who hit 449 of them.

“This is the first of many,” he tweeted Tuesday. (I’m) proud of you boy.”

Laura Armstrong is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy

Vlad Guerrero Jr. hits first two homers, powers Blue Jays past Giants.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered twice to become the third-youngest player to hit his first two major league homers in the same game, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 Tuesday night. The post May 15: Vlad Jr. goes deep appeared first on Sportsnet.ca.

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